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Thursday, October 22, 2026

Live: Australia battling to avoid defeat in second Test

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South Africa are odds on to level the series with victory in the second Test, with Australia needing a monumental batting effort to salvage a draw in Gqeberha.

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Steve Smith expected to bat today

(AP Photo)

Australia was hampered yesterday by a neck injury to former skipper Steve Smith.

The veteran batter was in clear discomfort throughout his first innings, changing his stance regularly to deal with the pain he was in before eventually being bowled.

He was seen in the sheds with a warming blanket around his neck in a bid to loosen the muscles, and did not come out to bat as expected when Australia was following on.

However, the Australian camp expect Smith to bat today.

"We felt it was best to hopefully get the batting unit through to tomorrow and then hopefully he's better placed," coach Andrew McDonald said.

"We've seen the physio working on him, so he'll bat tomorrow.

"It's not something that will rule him out of the innings, but it was just a little bit more time than we expected on the back of the first innings.

"Sometimes he changes his technique when he's fully fit too, but he was limited in what he could do."

Marco, Marnus and Smith's pain in the neck

By Simon Smale

Marco Jansen was a pain in the neck for all Australia's batters on day four, while we all know Marnus Labuschagne can cause a crick in the most sturdy of spines at the best of times - which these most definitely are not.

But it was the literal pain in the neck that felled Steve Smith on a tough day for Australia batters.

Here's the quick hits from day four.

What happened on day four?

By Simon Smale

(AP Photo)

There's no hiding it, but day four represented a low point in Australia's recent Test batting history, bundled out for 99 and being asked to follow on for just the third time this century, before going on to lose four wickets in their second innings to put them on the cusp of defeat.

Here's how it all went down.

Good evening

By Simon Smale

(Getty Images)

In the history of Test cricket, just four sides have ever responded to the ignominy of being asked to follow on by coming back and winning the match.

Australia, in the 40 times they have been asked to do so, has never managed it.

They have, however, drawn 11 pf those matches and that surely is the only hope that the Aussies have on day five at St George's Park.

Hello everyone and welcome to the final day of the second Test from Gqeberha, as Australia stares down the barrel.

My name is Simon Smale, Dean Bilton and Henry Hanson are with me and it's safe to say that if we are to be still with you for the entirety of the next seven hours or so, we're going to need a fightback of epic proportions from an Australian team that has wilted in the face of South Africa's fast-bowling.

Travis Head is nearing a century but was streaky as Danish bacon at times, while Steve Smith has a literal pain in his neck and is likely to be under-strength as a result.

The Aussies still trail by 170 runs. The situation is bleak.

But stranger things than this have happened in Test cricket. I once saw Monty Panesar survive 35 balls alongside Jimmy Anderson in Cardiff save a Test.

And, with all the respect and love for Monty in the world, if he can survive that long, then Australia's far more accomplished lower order batters can do their part too.

View the original on ABC News (Australia) →

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